Articles by: James Swackhammer
Today we are going to decide which is the better tool to use when adding flanges to a sheet metal part: Sketch Bend vs Edge Flange. Sketch Bend and Edge Flange are two very different tools that produce similar results. Why do they exist if they do the same thing? They exist because although the…
In this article I am going to make a very basic sheet metal box with two different creation techniques to determine which is more efficient, delivers more accurate results, and looks better. Before you jump to conclusions thinking which method is better, you might be surprised by the outcome. Stay tuned for the results. The…
In part 4 of my making a Sheet Metal Duct guide, I showed how to get the best material yield. Today I’m going to show you how to add etch marks so that all parts can be rolled together as one, zip cut, reordered and then welded together. With the parts already placed together, copy…
Today we are going to decide which feature is the better choice in a particular design situation – in this example should I use a Base Flange (Edge Flange/Sketch Bend) method or a Thin Feature? If you have been creating SOLIDWORKS sheet metal parts for a while and haven’t been using the Thin Feature, you…
Have you ever received this SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Error? “No bends found.” Why do I get this error? This is a common sheet metal error I used to see all the time. This typically occurs when you are converting a solid body part into a sheet metal part using the Insert Bend feature. There are…
Making a sheet metal duct can be time consuming but hopefully these few tips can reduce the time it takes. In my previous articles I took you through the process of making a 24 inch diameter, 90 degree HVAC duct. For the second step of the process I showed you how to apply a 0.0005″…
SOLIDWORKS MBD has come a long way since it initially released back in 2015. Adding dimensions or using existing design dimensions to publish directly into a manufacturable PDF saves time and interpretation errors. SOLIDWORKS 2019 has now added more features to the already innovative PDF. You can now add security measures to the 3D PDF.…
Welcome to part 4 of this adventure of making a large sheet metal HVAC duct. In Part 3 we saved the bodies, converting them into sheet metal parts and exported as DXF/DWG. In this final part I’m going to show you how to modify the exported parts in DraftSight to get a laser/plasma friendly part…